Traffic chaos as police shut A5 in Hinckley - recap

A closure has been put in force on the A5 at Hinckley by Leicestershire Police.

A lorry has struck a bridge.

Police issued an alert that the road is shut at around 5.40am, northbound on the Hammonds Way roundabout.

Around 10 minutes later this was extended to run between Dodwells Island and Lime Kilns in both directions.

A spokesman said: "We advise you find an alternative route."

Traffic in Nuneaton is already being affected, in particular on the Long Shoot and Eastboro Way.

This morning's traffic situation is being exacerbated by six-mile tailbacks on the M6 between Junctions 3 and 2 - you can follow updates on that live here.

Scroll down for live updates from our sister title LeicestershireLive

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Residual delays remain

Road reopening

Traffic still bad in the area

Drivers in the area say that the traffic is still ‘chaotic’ in Hinckley.

09:00

Bus route affected

Arriva has said the 158 service from Nuneaton to Leicester is affected.

A spokesman said: “There has been a bridge strike on the A5 at Hinckley and this is causing major delays on our services, Unfortunately we do not know how long the road will be closed for but it is beyond our control. Thank you for your patience and we will try to resume normal service as soon as possible.”

And Stagecoach Midlands said: “Delays of up to 40 minutes expected on service 48 to Leicester due to overturned lorry on the A5 Hinckley. Sorry for any inconvenience caused.”

08:20

Police statement

A spokeswoman for Leicestershire Police said:

We received a call around 5am this morning to reports of a lorry having collided with a railway bridge in Hinckley. It doesn’t appear that the lorry driver was injured. Network Rail have been notified but there doesn’t appear to be any damage to the bridge. Highways England have put road closures in place around the scene as the vehicle needs recovery. It also appears the lorry has shed some of its load across the road.

08:07

Diversion route released

Drivers are advised to leave At at Dodwells roundabout onto B4666 towards Hinckley and follow the solid diamond symbol.

Highways have said the route not suitable for abnormal loads.

Non-HGV traffic is being diverted via local routes, either through Hinckley or Nuneaton, while HGV and freight traffic is being diverted strategically via the M6 or the M1 (via the M69), depending on the destination.

07:35

The bridge that was hit in the incident

The bridge that was struck (Image: Google)

06:49

Coventry Road and Nutts Lane heavy

According to Google Traffic data, the immediate bypass for the closure, along Coventry Road and Nutts Lane, is already extremely heavy with drivers trying to get through.

06:37

Shed load

Highways also say the incident is ‘a collision involving an overturned HGV and a shed load’

06:36

Waiting on diversion details

Highways say they are on route to the area but have no official diversion planned yet.